Online retailer Nasty Gal is gearing up for its brick-and-mortar moment and has brought in former Apple retail boss Ron Johnson to help guide the way. Johnson is leading a $16 million investment in the Los Angeles-based company and joining the women retailer's board of directors, founder Sophia Amoruso told Re/code. Johnson was the mastermind of Apple's retail strategy and then held the CEO role at J.C. Penney in a tumultuous stint. He's now CEO of a yet-to-launch e-commerce startup called Enjoy.

Recent weeks have brought some major shake-ups to the e-commerce world as Sophia Amoruso stepped down as CEO of Nasty Gal and Eric Koger stepped down as CEO of ModCloth. While some may wonder if such personnel changes signal the fall of vertically integrated retail, I believe the industry is entering a new phase where successful players will look and behave more like retailers and less like tech startups.